The new Land Law allows construction of an apartment building to begin without waiting for a municipal permit.

PalmAn apartment building on rural land, without waiting for a municipal permit. That sequence, which seemed impossible, is now impossible thanks to the Land Acquisition Law approved by the PP and Vox this week. The figure of administrative silence, which is used in various procedures such as appeals filed by citizens, will make it possible for an entire development to begin construction after six months without the corresponding City Council having issued a statement.

"A nonsense that will encourage the acceleration of development until it causes a real urban bomb," criticized Margalida Ramis of the GOB (Government of Buenos Aires), for whom this mechanism "allows implicit authorizations without environmental control or citizen participation," since developers can begin construction simply by submitting all the documentation, but without...

It is a system used for many procedures that citizens carry out with the Administration, but its entry into the complex world of urban planning worries various experts and environmentalists. This was already included in the current Decree-Law on Land Acquisition, and the new law now replicates it, specifying that if the City Council does not resolve the project submitted by the developer within six months and has provided all the required documentation and reports, then work can begin due to positive administrative silence.

This provision applies to both projects considered strategic and carried out on rural land, as well as those built on urban or developable land, provided they meet the requirements of the law; among others, that the developer submits a complete preliminary study that resolves the Administration's questions about all technical aspects of the project.

A developer who owns developable land and has seen how in Palma, thanks to the law, he will be allowed to build 45% more than the General Plan stipulates, assures that "it's not a formula that excites us. You can spend two years of paperwork. That's why it's good news." This businessman, who requests anonymity, also states: "In any case, we're not happy about it because if there's a problem, when the Administration checks whether the project is being carried out, you don't have a license as such," he explains.

In a conversation with ARA Baleares a few days ago, PSIB MP Mercedes Garrido stated that "it's the biggest transformation of the territorial model that the Islands have suffered, as far as I can remember." She also lamented that "municipalities are being given the opportunity to disfigure rural land without having exhausted the urban and developable land, which is where growth should occur before turning to the countryside."

Comply with current regulations

Sources from the regional government insist that, in any case, the projects presented by developers must comply "with all current regulations" and that the risk of operating under administrative silence isn't as great. But environmentalists view this as absurd. Neus Prats, of the GEN-GOB (National Council of the Balearic Islands), hopes that "in Ibiza, no town council will adhere to what the new law provides because it wouldn't be sensible, but we are aware that speculators will take advantage, and the mayors are often particularly weak." Minister José Luis Mateo said during the debate earlier this week that the new law "will alleviate the housing problem" and that the limited-price apartments will be for residents with at least five years' residence in the Balearic Islands.

The Ibizan environmental organization believes that the formula of administrative silence should not be applied to projects such as apartment buildings due to the impact they can generate and because "rights contrary to regulations cannot be acquired through administrative silence, and more than one will interpret it that way. Another door open to prevarication," Prat believes.

City councils will have to vote in plenary session whether they adhere to what the law provides when it comes to carrying out strategic projects on rural or developable land. If they do, then developers will be able to start work without waiting for a specific pronouncement, just waiting the six months stipulated by the regulations.